


Happy Birthday

by LadyTorix



Series: Robot Grandpas [2]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: (not graphic), Birthday, Established Relationship, Family Bonding, Fluff, Found Family, M/M, Not Beta Read, Pregnancy, we die like idiots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:33:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25801390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyTorix/pseuds/LadyTorix
Summary: Verity's life changes in a big way, and she has a request.
Relationships: Background Marissa Faireborn/Thundercracker, Megatron/Minimus Ambus, Megatron/Ultra Magnus, Verity Carlo & Megatron, Verity Carlo & Minimus Ambus, Verity Carlo & Ultra Magnus
Series: Robot Grandpas [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1864435
Comments: 10
Kudos: 51





	Happy Birthday

**Author's Note:**

> A follow up to Uncle Magnus’s Got a Brand New Bag.
> 
> Written for MiniMegs week 2020 using the theme, "Holidays."

Verity stared at the ceiling and scowled. The wonder of life her ass.

It was sticky and hot, and she was too tired to move.

Only problem was that she definitely needed to move.

Damn bladder.

Damn pregnancy.

Damn 100+ degree heat.

She pulled herself off the bed and groaned. Her lower back complained, but the baby was mercifully still. Had been through the bulk of pregnancy, really.

She snorted when she remembered her mom complaining about how much moved around, and kicked, and hell, everything else. Like she was, “Ready to have a go at the world,” before she was even born. (Which, all things considered, was _probably_ right.)

It made Verity wonder how her kid was going to turn out. Not like her, well, not running away from foster homes and shit anyway.

“I can’t wait to meet you, kiddo,” she said through gritted teeth, “but damn, if you could hurry it up, I’d fucking appreciate it.”

Not that any of that _would_ have been a problem in the first place if her mom hadn’t married that absolute garbage fire of a human being. At least he wasn’t in the picture now. Not that her mom was either.

She had a tendency to marry scumbags, god only knew why. (Her dad had been fine, what the heck happened with the rest?) Verity had tried to patch things up, and had, for a while, until her mother had met the next man in line. And of course, he was just as bad as all the others.

One perk of working for the government, and being indirectly involved with giant alien robots on a daily basis was that it was pretty dang easy to keep people away.

Hell, she had Thundercracker listed as an emergency contact for fuck’s sake. Not that he wanted to hurt anyone anymore. He seemed quite happy to proudly proclaim himself as Marissa’s trophy husband every chance he could, but well, he was only a few minutes away and he still looked threatening enough.

She’d only had to do that once. She shuddered. Her former stepdad had decided to show up on her doorstep to vaguely menace her and ask her for money one night. Not that she wasn’t capable of defending herself. (The asshole had apparently missed the memo on working around giant alien robots _all goddamn day._ ) But damn, if TC hadn’t been marvelously effective at making the man literally shit himself just by landing and transforming.

So, no assholes. No asshole relatives for her kid.

No shitty step dads, no moms who put their own happiness above their own children.

...No grandparents.

Given everything else you'd have thought that would have been a plus, but the very few summers she’d spent with her paternal grandmother were some of the (very) few respites in her childhood. It pained her a little that her kid wouldn’t have that kind of relationship with anyone. It was just herself, and the weird little family she’d built.

Hmm...

* * *

“Do you need anything?”

Marissa had called in the afternoon, probably in between the flurry of meetings that typically defined her day.

“Nah, I’m good.”

“I’ll send TC over with dinner later.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

Marissa sighed, “Verity. Take it from someone who knows, it’s okay to accept help every once in a while.”

“Ugh, fineeee.” She _was_ hungry, and it was so freaking hot.

“And call if you need anything. I mean it. And don’t you dare try to drive to the hospital by yourself.”

“I will.” (That’s exactly what Verity planned to do.)

“The Lost Light filed their flight plan, by the way. They should be here by tomorrow.”

“I was wondering when we’d hear back.”

“They had to deliver a diplomat to Strega-IX first, which was news to me and also, apparently, them. The ship will be undergoing repairs for about a week on the moon base. I’m sure one or both of your visitors will manifest after everything’s reasonably settled.”

Verity snorted, “You mean once they’re sure Rodimus won’t light the ship on fire.”

Marissa coughed to stifle a laugh, “A safe assumption.”

“Very safe.”

Verity heard Thundercracker’s voice in the background, “Oh, is that Verity? Has the larva hatched yet?”

“TC, for the love of god, don’t call a baby a larva. And they don’t-,” Marissa sighed, “I’ll check in with you again tonight, Verity.”

“Mm-hm. Bye. Good luck.”

“I’m going to need it,” Marissa mumbled. “They’re born, like with Buster’s pup-,” her voice abruptly cut off as the call ended.

Verity wasn’t entirely how she’d gotten the job working for Earth’s representative to the Council of Worlds, aside from just, you know, being in the orbit of so many Cybertronians for so long.

But Marissa had eventually sought her out, as someone who was familiar with Cybertronians, who had a background in tech. On paper, Verity was the IT Director, but in truth she was part social media coordinator, part hacker, part digital security. She did a bit of everything, really. And it suited her, at least she was never bored.

She could also double as security if it came down to it. All the time she’d spent with Ultra Magnus and the Wreckers had counted for something, and she was damn good under fire.

So she’d gotten herself all stable and decided to have a kid. It’s not like she regretted it, it was just, a _big_ change, you know?

Her therapist had put forth the theory that it was about breaking the cycle of abuse or something. Which, she guessed was accurate in a sort of nebulous way, but really she just wanted to be _better_ , she wanted to be a better parent then her mom (and the parade of assholes) had been for her.

It felt important to pass on something better than what she’d received.

Besides, she’d always liked kids, anyway.

* * *

Minimus’ holoform showed up alone in the early evening a day later. He tut-tutted the messy house, and after making sure she was sitting comfortably, cleaned everything until it was spotless.

Verity chuckled, “I don’t think it’s ever been this clean.”

“Yes, well, I think you will have your hands full once you are back from the hospital as it is. If this is one less thing you need to concern yourself with, then 'mission accomplished' in my opinion.”

“Honestly, I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t assembled the crib for me. I kept putting it off, and then it got to a point,” she gestured down to her stomach, “where trying to do it by myself was very frustrating.”

“I believe it is customary to have help from your community and your loved ones around the birth of a child, is it not?”

“Well, yes-”

“That is all I am doing, Verity.”

Verity sighed contentedly and leaned her head back into the chair, “And I really appreciate it Uncle Mins.”

“You are welcome.” He glanced up at the clock on the wall. “It is nearing 6 o’clock, do you need to refuel?”

She laughed, “Eat, and yes, but I can get it.”

“Let me.”

“Do you know how to cook!?! Human food I mean.”

Minimus coughed, politely, “I was thinking I would try this whole _delivery_ thing. Though admittedly, while I do know how to prepare a few human meals, it is only things that are primarily cooked over an open flame.”

“Right. I did end up showing you guys some camp food a couple of years ago, didn’t I?”

“Yes. Perhaps on another less… eventful, visit you could teach me some things that involve an actual kitchen.”

“Deal. And if it’s delivery you’re after, just hand me my phone.”

It wasn’t a quick ordeal, and if she hadn’t been hungry before then she was definitely hungry an hour later, once Minimus had looked through the menus from 3 different restaurants, and _finally_ decided on something.

Somehow he was using chopsticks impeccably and eating his pad thai with a thoughtful look on his face. Verity wondered if he’d looked up a tutorial on the utensils while they were waiting.

“Good?”

“Yes. It is difficult to compare with energon, or even the food we’ve shared on previous visits. But I like it, what are these crunchy things?”

“Peanuts.”

“Ah,” he took another bite, “they provide a contrasting texture I find quite pleasant.”

She laughed, “Well, I’m glad you like it. I wonder if humans have a wider variety of flavors than Cybertronians typically do?”

He shook his head, “No, I think it is just that they are very different, and not really comparable to each other. Energon is primarily flavored with it’s preparation via different temperatures, or added minerals or solvents. Humans, if I may say so, will apparently use anything that does not kill them.”

“You’re not far off. Hell, we eat stuff that kills a lot of other species on Earth.”

“I do not know whether to be impressed or horrified.”

“Both?”

He raised an eyebrow at her and she burst out laughing. Shaking his head he returned to his meal.

“So… where’s Megs anyway? I thought he was going to come with you?”

“He will, but it will be after Drift returns to the ship from shore leave. Neither of us trust Rodimus to handle supervising the repairs on his own.”

“Ah.”

“I hope that my company will be satisfactory in the meantime?”

“Of course, I’m really, really glad you’re here! I was just worried that something was wrong.” She reached over and squeezed his hand. He squeezed back.

“And…” She faltered, “There is something I wanted to ask you guys.”

“I can communicate over the coms with Megatron simultaneously, if you wish to talk to us now, or you may wait.”

“That’s sweet of you Uncle Mins, but I’ll wait.”

He nodded. “Is there anything else I can do to help you prepare?”

“Not tonight, no, but do you want to watch a movie with me? It’s a musical.”

Almost imperceptibly, his expression brightened, “Of course.”

* * *

Verity had drifted off to sleep a few minutes after the movie started. Minimus let the movie play and turned the tv off when it was over. He wished he could have enjoyed it with Verity, but he had read enough literature on the human reproductive process that he knew she needed her rest.

He turned out the lights and made himself comfortable on the couch to ‘rest’, which in this case meant checking in with Megatron on the progress of the ship repairs.

_::How is she?::_

_::Fine, I think. Granted, my experience with this particular human experience is practically nil.::_

_::It certainly doesn’t sound like an easy process. New spark creation is dangerous enough, I can’t imagine if Cybertronians had to grow the protoforms in our bodies as well.::_

_::Agreed. How are the repairs coming, and have you heard back from Drift?::_

_::Repairs are proceeding as expected, barring some minor adjustments to the schedule due to some other system issues that have been found and need addressed. I have sent you the updated timetable.::_

_::Thank you.::_

_::Noted. Drift should be back on board early tomorrow, and Perceptor has also volunteered to help monitor repairs. Between the two of them I don’t anticipate any major problems.::_

Verity stirred from her sleep, and Minimus sat up, “Verity can I get you something?”

She groaned and carefully climbed out of the chair, “Nah, need to go into the bathroom anyway. I’ll grab some Tylenol while I’m up.”

“Let me know if you need anything.”

“Yup, yup,” she yawned and waved him off as she began walking slowly down the hallway.

_::Apologies, Verity woke up.::_

_::Thank you, but no apology is needed. For the time being I think it is safe to say she is, for you, personally, a higher priority than the ship. Considering we are currently docked and not on active duty in any case.::_

_::I suppose... that is correct, though it does feel strange to say so.::_

Minimus heard a slew of swearing in the other room, “Verity?”

She came back down the hallway, walking considerably faster than when she’d left, “We gotta go, my water just broke.”

“Go? Oh! To the hospital- yes, where was your go bag?”

“Baby’s room.”

“I will get it.” He quickly relayed the events to Megatron over the com and broke the connection. When he came back into the living room, Verity was holding her car keys and making sure all the doors were locked.

“Ready?” she asked.

“Yes, but I will drive,” he held out his hand.

She blinked at him but handed over her keys, “Do you even know how to drive a car while you’re, er… not the car in question?”

“Yes, technically I have a human driving license.”

“What?! Since when?”

“Since a few years ago, now is that everything?”

“Should be,” she winced. “Ugh, that was a big one- we should get going.”

* * *

Minimus decided a couple of things in the hours following:

  1. Human birth was extraordinarily messy.
  2. He hoped Verity did not choose to have another child at any point, because no amount of reading could prepare him for everything that followed their arrival at the hospital, and he had no desire to repeat that experience. Preferably ever again.
  3. Spilled energon was one thing, but he was quite sure that humans needed all that blood!
  4. No, really, that was a massive amount of blood.
  5. Were the doctors _quite_ sure everything would be alright?
  6. He had gotten mistaken for the father at least twice, and even if their age gap had been _only_ what it appeared compared to his holoform, he still found it a wildly inappropriate assumption. Ah-hem!



Regardless, the baby was fine, and both mother and child were resting. It was still the wee hours of the morning, and the hospital was about as quiet as such places got. Minimus decided that he should probably get some rest too and slipped into a light sleep.

* * *

Verity woke up to the muddled sky right before dawn, and someone sitting next to her hospital bed.

“Hey, Megs.”

Megatron (or more accurately, his holoform) nodded, “Verity.”

“Where’s Uncle Mins?”

“He’ll be back in a few minutes, he went to retrieve some food from the commissary downstairs.”

“Gotcha.” She set up gingerly, “So when did you get here?”

“A few minutes ago. Drift and Ratchet finally returned to the ship.”

“Don’t trust Rodimus to not burn the place down, eh? Uh, figuratively speaking.”

“No, not figuratively, _or_ literally in this case.”

Verity chuckled, “Fair.”

“What did you name her?” he gestured towards where the baby was sleeping.

“Nymphadora.”

“That seems like a longer sounding name than most human names I’m familiar with.”

“Yeah,” Verity shot him a sheepish smile, “it was my gran-gran’s name. Figured we’d all just call her Nymph anyway. Way too long otherwise, but I liked the idea of naming my kid after her.”

He nodded.

She bit her lip, and took a deep breath, “I need to ask you something, before Minimus gets back.”

Megatron tilted his head and frowned, “Why _before_ he gets back?”

“Because I know what his answer’s gonna be if I ask him, but I want to know yours, _without_ you being pressured to respond right away.”

He nodded, “Ask then.”

“Okay,” Verity leaned her head back against the wall and stared at the ceiling, “You know I’m estranged from family- it’s why me and Minimus are so close, yeah?”

“Yes…?”

“Well, I want to ask you guys to be her family too,” she gently reached out and touched Nymph’s sleeping form.

“I was under the impression we already were, so to speak, through you.”

“You are, I mean, yes. Like, if you’re both my uncles, you guys would be her great uncles, but I’m asking for something else, something more meaningful in human terms.”

“Which is?”

“I want to ask you guys to be her grandparents,” she winced a little and finally looked back at him.

Megatron’s brow furrowed, “You’re going to have to explain the difference to me. I still don’t entirely understand human familial structures.”

“Okay,” she let out the breath she’d been holding since the start of the conversation. “Normally, if you’re someone’s grandparents it means you're one of their parent’s parents. Grandparents, see? It’s like a level up.”

“Then why ask us?”

“Well, my dad’s dead, I’m not speaking to my mom for so many goddamn reasons, and Nymph doesn’t really have paternal (that means on her dad’s side) grandparents, since the whole, you know, sperm donor thing.”

“Technically, such paternal grandparents would exist, surely?”

“Technically, sure, but sperm donors aren’t really involved with the kids created from the whole process, you know?”

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Alright, so why is this a more meaningful… title, for lack of a better term.”

She hummed, “It implies a closer relationship, and… I’m asking you guys to take care of her if something happens to me.”

“Verity,” he sighed and crossed his arms, “I don’t think entrusting me with your young is a good idea. On any level.”

“Okay, why?”

He raised an eyebrow and gestured to himself.

“That’s not an answer. At least not anymore, and you know it.”

“Perhaps, but I still think I’m ill suited to deal with Cybertronian sparklings, let alone organic ones.”

“I’m not asking you to answer right now. I just want you to consider it. I didn’t want to bring it up to Minimus, because I’m pretty sure he’ll say yes. Even if it takes him a while to think about it, I’m still pretty sure he’ll say yes.”

“You’re right,” he agreed after a pause, “then the answer is yes.”

“I don’t want you to feel pressured, I mean it.”

Megatron chuckled, “This isn’t pressure, this is fear. Fear of somehow messing up another life, a tiny, _extremely_ fragile life.

“Then why did you say yes?

“Because I trust Minimus, even if I still don’t trust myself.” He sighed, “So, ask Minimus. If he says yes, then my answer is yes as well.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded, and looked towards the doorway to the hospital room, “I’ll give you two some time to talk.”

He exited the room as Minimus entered, “I’ll be back in a bit, just stretching my limbs.”

Minimus nodded before turning to Verity, “You’re awake!”

She grinned, “Yup! Got through in one piece, can you believe it?”

“No,” Minimus replied seriously, “I cannot. Human birth is terrifying.”

Verity laughed, and Nymph stirred. “Oops, she’s up. Would you like to hold her?”

Minimus sat down in the chair Megatron had previously vacated and nodded, “I have been reading up on the proper protocol on handling small humans, but please let me know if I am doing something incorrect. I find human instructional literature can be somewhat lacking.”

“Oh, I will, don’t worry,” she transferred the small bundle to Minimus’ arms and sat back with a soft smile.

He hummed quietly as he rocked her. “She looks like you, but not, at the same time. It is very strange. For example, her nose clearly resembles your own, but the color of her eyes is completely different.”

“Genetics can be like that sometimes.”

“I would not know,” Minimus said softly before beginning to sing some sort of gentle song to Nymph in a language Verity couldn’t understand.

Minimus’ expression was so soft and if she hadn’t already known the answer to her question before, well...

“Hey,” she said gently, “I need to ask you you something.”

**Author's Note:**

> Uh, is anybody else interested in more gay robot grandpas or just me?
> 
> You can usually find me (often literally) screaming about robots on Tumblr at [twilight-owl](http://twilight-owl.tumblr.com/) or [afterspark-podcast](https://afterspark-podcast.tumblr.com/).


End file.
